So much has been made of Fred Thompson's wife that many believe she is going to play a pivotal role in any Presidential campaign, giving another potential first lady a run for his money.....well, we actually mean first man and that would be Bill Clinton.
But while there are some who might consider Bill Clinton a trophy husband to Hillary, even he would have to agree that it is Fred Thompson's wife who will capture all the eyes in a room....at least from an aesthetic point of view.
Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri, is a lawyer and a Republican political operative.
But in the past few days Jeri Thompson has suddenly emerged as the real political power behind her husband Fred's presidential campaign.
A native of Hastings, Nebraska, grew up in Naperville, Illinois and was an English literature graduate of Indiana's DePauw University, Jeri Thompson has worked as a political media consultant at the Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson, and Hand law firm in Washington, D.C. Before that, she was employed by the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee
The couple first met on July 4, 1996. They were married on June 29, 2002 at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville. In October 2003, Fred and Jeri Thompson welcomed their first child. A second child was born to them in November 2006.
If Mrs. Thompson becomes First Lady, the 25-year age difference would not be unprecedented. For example, Frances Folsom Cleveland was 27 years younger than President Grover Cleveland who was inaugurated as President in 1885 and again in 1893.
Mr Thompson, 64, a former senator and actor who is running second in most polls of Republican nominees even before he has officially declared his candidacy, last week replaced his campaign manager in a shake-up of his top team - which, it has emerged, was initiated by his wife.
Another senior aide quit after clashes with Mrs Thompson, a youthful-looking 40, who is in effect managing her husband's White House bid and has hiring and firing authority over staff, according to campaign insiders.
The upheavals have highlighted the key role of Mr Thompson's second wife, according to Sherwell and Shipman.
"As her husband's de facto campaign manager, Mrs Thompson has the greatest hands-on role of any spouse in the presidential campaign, even though she has so far steered well clear of the political hustling."
A campaign aide, also speaking anonymously, told The Washington Post that Mrs Thompson decided everything from the content of direct mailings to the date for her husband to make his official declaration, now expected at the end of the summer. "You name it - anything," said the aide.
Fred Thompson was recently added to the
Sportsbook.com 2008 Presidential Betting Odds Menu. The online gambling firm was said to be very reluctant to place odds on Thompson, fearing heavy early action on a candidate who stands a very solid chance of becoming the next President of the United States.
Fred Thompson's Wife
A native of Hastings, Nebraska, grew up in Naperville, Illinois and was an English literature graduate of Indiana's DePauw University, Jeri Thompson has worked as a political media consultant at the Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson, and Hand law firm in Washington, D.C. Before that, she was employed by the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee